In Finland, the L1 subject (called Mother tongue and literature in the national curriculum), consists of both language and literature, in comparison to many other countries where there are two separate subjects for language and literature studies. This school subject is highly sensitive to local contexts in different countries (Holmberg et al. 2019). Historically, and also in the present situation, the emphasis in the Finnish L1 education has been on language, whereas the role of literature has been – and still is – smaller. This paper aims at presenting and discussing the role of literature education in the L1 subject in Finland. The study is based on a large reading motivation project and research survey carried out in Finnish primary schools in autumn 2017 (Lukuklaani ‘Reading Clan’, see, Grünthal & al, 2019, https://blogs.helsinki.fi/lukuklaani/). The data consists of answers from 885 teachers from all parts of Finland, and it covers areas of teaching methods, number of books read, genre variation, favorite books in different grade levels, and the reading habits of teachers themselves, among others. In this paper, we focus on the role of teachers’ conceptions of powerful knowledge (Lambert, 2017) in teaching literature, as well fiction as non-fiction. Recent research in many fields suggests that particularly long fictional texts, such as novels, have consequences for the reader’s theory of mind and that reading increases empathy and stimulates learning (Mar & al. 2008; Grünthal & Pentikäinen 2017). In our analysis, we have a look, first, at the number and type of books read in L1 education (see, Tainio & al, forthcoming); second, we discuss teaching methods used in literature education, and, third, we throw a glance at the correlation between teachers’ own reading habits and their effectiveness as literature educators. The survey data gives us possibilities to discuss literature education in terms of epistemic quality. Seen through the concept of powerful knowledge and in the framework of both literary studies and pedagogy, we discuss the diversity and profoundness of teaching methods, books read, and literature education in Finnish primary schools at present. Results from the Lukuklaani (Reading Clan) research project can, hopefully, raise questions of interest and visions for improvement in both L1 education and teacher education in the future.

Grünthal, S. & Pentikäinen, J. (2017). Book trailers in literature education: Technology and interaction skills in support of multiliteracy. In: N. Pyyry et al. (Eds.), Changing subjects, changing pedagogies: Diversities in school and education. Helsinki: Finnish Research association for Subject Didactics. 210-226. Grünthal, S., Hiidenmaa, P., Routarinne, S., Satokangas, H. & Tainio, L. (2019). Alakoulun kirjallisuuskasvatusta kartoittamassa: Lukuklaanin opettajakyselyn tuloksia. In: Tarnanen, M. & Rautiainen, M. (eds.) Tutkimuksesta luokkahuonekontekstiin. Jyväskylä: Suomen ainedidaktinen tutkimusseura.